Food that fight Leukemia

Although there are no specific foods that are linked to fighting leukaemia, there are vitamins that can be taken in order to help improve one’s condition. Some cancer survivors have seen improvements after taking supplements. Some foods that are known to fight cancer are onions and garlic. Carrots have also been proven to fight cancer. Carrots contain β-carotene and polyacetylenes which help to induce apoptosis. Experimentation was conducted by introducing carrot juice extracts to leukaemia and non-tumour control cell lines. Leukaemia cell lines that were treated with carrot juice extracts resulted in apoptosis and inhibition of cell growth. One real-life example would be the case of Earnie Powell

Diet can be a crucial weapon to fight against leukaemia and an especially diet filled with antioxidants such as dark chocolate, cranberries, elderberries, etc.  These food keep the body strong and thus able to fight against leukaemia. There are several recommendations that we can arm ourselves with to fight leukaemia. Here are some recommendations from Sandquist:

1) Aim for 10 fruits and vegetable a day

Reason: They are high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals which are all effective to fight cancer cells.

Examples of how we can include more fruits and vegetables into our daily diet: 

-Adding berries peaches into frozen yogurt or ice cream.

-Replace tidbits such as potato chips with vegetables and fruits

2) Steam your vegetables

Reason: To retain most of its nutrients

Example: Steamed sweet peas

3) Go for whole grain

Reason: They are more nutritious and thus taking 100% whole-wheat bread, brown rice is the best option.

Example: Replace white rice with brown rice

4) Make protein a priority

Reason: After doing chemotherapy, there will be side effects such as nausea and vomiting which causes one to lose appetite. Hence by taking in more protein, it actually allows one to remain strong. For vegetarian, food with a good source of the protein includes nuts and seeds, tofu, soy milk, etc.

Example to make food more appealing while including protein: Chicken or fish in the soup instead of a piece of fish or chicken with not much seasoning.

5) Soothe your stomach

Reason: Losing appetite after chemotherapy may be hard for patients to consume solid foods. It is also wise to avoid spicy foods and caffeine.

Example of food that can be consumed: Crackers and sipping ginger ale

6) Fill up on healthy bacteria

Reason: Healthy bacteria present in stomach aid body to handle the food. Thus consuming food that is high in healthy bacteria such as probiotics is recommended

Example of food that contains probiotics: Yogurt with live active culture and drinking kefir.

7) Eat every two to four hours

Reason : Leukaemia patients tend to lose weight caused by the losing of appetite thus it is hard to consume a big meal at one goal. Therefore eating small snacks or meals every two to four hours can be helpful.